Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 2, 1993                   TAG: 9306020087
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: C5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ROANOKE-AREA HOME SALES MAKE A JUMP

Real estate agents sold 484 houses in May compared to 290 a year ago but down 1.2 percent from 490 sales in April, according to a report released Tuesday by the Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors.

For the first five months of the year, 1,897 houses exchanged hands compared to 1,556 during the same period last year, an increase of 21.9 percent.

The median value of a Roanoke Valley home sold last month was $89,950, up $5,000 from the prior month. Last month's figure included one house that sold for more than $500,000.

The average time that a house was on the market before selling last month was 86 days, according to the Roanoke Valley Multiple Listing Service.